On the Dike, Zoeterwoude Dorp

(Sounds like 'Sooterwowduh Dorp'; 'dorp' means 'village' and is actually where the English surname 'Thorpe' comes from!)

Finished at about 14.00 today. Phoned hubby and it turned out that he had plans to go back for the third consecutive day to his friend M's place to finish laying the floor, after which he would get a free dinner, after which he would drive over to another friend's house for an evening of bridge.

The sun was high in the sky and there was no wind ... so I turned around and headed north, thinking of a return visit to Haarlem. As so often happens, though, something else caught my eye on the way -- the windmill along the A4 with the background vocals of two modern wind turbines. If you're driving to AMS on the A4 from the south, you can't miss it; it's right beside the highway, and so are the turbines, where, unfortunately, parking on the hard shoulder is equivalent to risking a 257-euro fine. I decided then and there to exit and look for the road leading to it.

Parked my car at a popular restaurant and walked about 2 km. till I finally reached it, only to discover that it is within a property which is Off Limits to everyone. There is only a path leading to the rather shabby entrance, and there is a simple shack of a house within the perimeter fence which, given a couple more years, might be a ripe candidate for Derelict Thursday. The owner wasn't home but, later, the proprietress at a nearby cheese shop warned me that he valued his privacy dearly and wasn't one to be 'messed with'.

Before getting to the cheese shop and restaurant, though, I decided not to hike the way I came but to get back by clambering over the dike and crossing some farmlands. On the way past the horses and sheep and wind turbines, and stepping carefully around the nettles, I found a bush of thistles. What a treasure to find during a hike! Of course I took several shots but finally settled on this one.

On the way home, passed by the friend's house and finally saw hubby before heading back home. Actually, that was the best part of the day!